Watercolor by Luigi Loir. The inspiration for writing
PEREGRINE ISLAND.
PEREGRINE ISLAND is the story of the Peregrine family, living on an island off the Connecticut coast, whose lives are turned upside-down one summer when so-called art experts appear on their doorstep to appraise a favorite heirloom painting. When incriminating papers along with other paintings are discovered behind the painting-in-question, the appraisal turns into a full-fledged investigation. Flattered at first by the art museum’s unanticipated interest, the family members quickly change their attitudes with the arrival of detectives on their terrace and the illusory but repeated appearance of a stranger reported to be concealed in a cove. The now-antagonistic family—grandmother, mother, and child—consequently begin to suspect one another…as well as the shady newcomers in their midst, all of whom, coincidentally, have converged on their island at the same time. As the summer progresses and the Peregrines discover facts about their past in the course of the investigation, they learn that people are not always who they appear to be—themselves not excluded—and art, such as theirs, is often a reflection of their own lives.
While the tale of PEREGRINE ISLAND is driven by a mystery, the reader finds that his or her satisfaction at the end has been earned, not necessarily by the mystery, but by the novel’s ever-present sense of spiritualism … accentuated by the symbolism of the Sound, the soul of relationships—judge a tree from its fruit, not from the leaves, said Euripedes—plus the message of hope embodied in the wisdom of the very young and the very old.
